Thread: dead patches

GOt a call from a customer and said she has several spots of dead grass. It's circular about 4-5" of dead grass and dark green grass around the edges. Almost like a dog spot but no dogs there. She also said she put a towel in one spot and picked it up an hour later and there were "white slugs" there.
Bill bugs?

Those types of dead spots are puddle areas caused by too much water... the slugs also indicate too much water...

What happens is: as time goes by these small irregularities caused by depressions from a foot fall, for exa., when the turf is wet puddles up with water and evaporates rather than soak in... next time it gets a little worse and the surface becomes a 'hardpan' with no structure at all... Plug those areas after a rain and see what it is like under the surface.

My guess is no soil structure at all...

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Now that I know that clay's texture(platelets) has nothing to do with water infiltration, percolation, or drainage,,, I wonder what does...
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You are correct. If it has the symptoms of a dog spot--that is probably correct. Darker green around the outside. Spot is about the size of the dog's head. Male dogs tend to go near trees, fire hydrants and mailboxes. Stray dogs or an early morning dog walker is likely. Especially if within 20 feet of a sidewalk. Or...maybe a pelican couldn't wait. Get your nose down close and sniff deeply. Set a couple mole traps and watch the early morning interloper pull his dog off the lawn.